


Not the Med Unit

by otherpartyfavors



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 11:17:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4219713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otherpartyfavors/pseuds/otherpartyfavors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story for Agent85 for the Less than 5k Exchange on Tumblr!</p><p>When Fitz needs attention from a dentist, Jemma has to explain why she is not a medical professional, but a biochemist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not the Med Unit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [agent85](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agent85/gifts).



Jemma sat down at her desk with a content sigh. She glanced over at Fitz, who gave her an awkward smile and a wave that was perhaps a little too enthusiastic. Yet despite the slightly ridiculous nature of his greeting, Jemma couldn’t help but grin as butterflies burst into her stomach.

They had finally gone on that date last night, the dinner she had initially agreed to over three months ago. Very little happened during the date, really. They barely talked about the past year, or even their current feelings, but they laughed a lot, and Jemma realized just how much she had missed seeing Fitz smile.

They were getting back to being friends again, and Jemma couldn’t be happier. Although this time, things were laced with pleasant jitters, awkward glances, red cheeks, and all the other things Jemma never quite imagined having with Fitz. Yet there she was, sitting at her desk, blushing as she remembered Fitz holding her hand while riding home from the restaurant.

She glanced back over at him and saw his brow furrowed in concentration, as he mended the new piece of tech found during the latest Hydra raid.  Jemma looked back at the work in front of her, and realized there wasn’t much for her to do that day. There was one analysis to start, and after that, her job would be to help the other scientists in the lab with their work. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t note her excitement at the thought of assisting a particular scientist in the lab.

While working on her analysis, Jemma imagined herself and Fitz chatting animatedly at his desk, him showing her the schematics of the new tech, elbows touching and perhaps hands, promising to have dinner together that night. She felt incredibly silly, but not nearly enough to stop her daydreaming. It was a strange thing, Jemma realized, falling in love and yet already being in love. She knew the depths of her feelings, and had known for several months, and part of her couldn’t believe they were moving so slowly. Yet another part of her, the part that was smiling to herself far too often these days, didn’t want it to happen any other way.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Jemma started walking towards Fitz’s desk. He was concentrating so deeply that he barely noticed her walking towards him.

“Hi Fitz!” Jemma said brightly from behind his shoulder, but her cheerful greeting was followed immediately with a scream of shock. She had apparently startled Fitz with her address, and in his surprise he had dropped the device, part of which shot out and hit him square in the mouth.

“Fitz!” Jemma yelled, kneeling down onto the floor, as Fitz had fallen out of his chair. “Fitz, are you all right?”

His response was nothing but a sullen groan, as he strained to pull himself off the floor.

“Here,” Jemma said, “let me help.” She looped her arms around his middle and steadied him as he straightened his legs. “Now, let’s see what the damage is…”

Fitz slowly let his hand down from covering his mouth, revealing a bloody lip and a tooth that looked knocked out of place. “How bad is it?” he mumbled.

“Well,” she answered, “you’ve got a split lip, which will be easy enough to heal, but it looks like one of your teeth might need attention from a professional.”

Fitz looked at her with a weak smile, half joking, half embarrassed, as he opened his mouth wider.

“What are you doing?” Jemma asked, trying to sound casual while Fitz leaned his bloodied, wide-open mouth towards her.

“I—you’re a professional,” he said before closing his mouth.

“Yes,” she replied with a chuckle, “I am a professional—a professional biochemist. I’m not a dentist.”

“But you could learn?” he asked, hope lining his words.

“Oh, Fitz,” Jemma said, rolling her eyes as almost all of the pleasant nerves and butterflies expelled her system, “just because I could be a dentist doesn't mean I am. Even if I knew all the steps, I still don’t have a dentistry degree or a license! And I don’t plan on getting one!”

“Okay, okay,” he answered, putting his hands up in defeat. “You’re not a dentist, I get it. But my mouth is bleeding so could you help me?”

Jemma sighed. She honestly hated playing nurse, but perhaps she could make the most of it this time. “I’ll help you with the split lip—but you need to see a dentist about that tooth!”

“I don’t know, Jemma,” Fitz said, looking at the floor. “Maybe I’ll just pull it out.”

“What?” she asked, unable to believe the words he just said. “Why on earth would you do that?”

He continued to look at the floor, and, in a sheepish voice, said, “I don’t like the dentist.”

With every fiber of her being, Jemma resisted rolling her eyes at Fitz, and instead took a step forward. “Why are you afraid of the dentist?” she asked gently, dabbing his lip with a tissue.

“I didn’t say I was afraid,” he said, finally looking up at her, slight sound of panic in his voice, “I just don’t like the dentist.”

If they weren’t in a new phase of their relationship, Jemma would have pressed further. As much as she enjoyed bickering with Fitz, now didn’t seem quite the right time for it. She simply smiled, looping her arm through his and saying, “Let’s get you to the Med Unit. Clean this lip up a bit more.”

He smiled at her, and then immediately winced. “Ow! Not doing that again,” he said, putting the tissue back to his mouth as new blood came pouring out. “Don’t say anything nice. Or funny. I can’t handle it right now.”

Jemma couldn’t help but giggle as they started walking arm in arm towards the Med Unit. Somehow she built up the courage to loop her fingers around his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Jemma could see Fitz trying not to smile as he gently squeezed her hand in return.

As they turned the corner, they immediately separated their hands, noticing that Hunter was walking straight towards them.

“What’s going on here?” Hunter asked, eyeing the two suspiciously.

Jemma could feel panic cursing through her and so could Fitz, apparently, who began stammering nonsense at Hunter.

“Em, just walking,” he said, waving his free hand in a poorly executed way acting nonchalant, “Just friends walking. Walking is good, you know? Keeps the heart healthy and all that—” 

“Why on earth do you have a bloody lip?” Hunter interrupted. “Did the walking as friends do that?”

Sighing in relief that Hunter didn’t seem to notice the hand holding, Jemma said, “Oh! It’s a funny story actually! I startled Fitz in the lab, and he dropped a device, which somehow shot out at his face—“

“Might’ve knocked a tooth loose—“ Fitz added.

“—Yes, well,” she continued, “We’re on our way to the Med Unit.”

“Med Unit?” Hunter asked, looking at Simmons. “Aren’t you the Med Unit?”

Jemma rolled her eyes. _Not this again._ “No, I am not the Med Unit,” she said as calmly as possible.

“Yeah but,” Hunter started, “you’re a doctor!”

“Technically,” she answered, after taking a deep breath, “that’s right. I have a couple PhDs, which are doctors of _philosophy_.” She said the last word slowly, pronouncing each syllable distinctly in order to make her point. “Of course, I’m not a philosopher, that’s just what it’s called—I’m a biochemist. That is my trade.”

“Yeah but,” Hunter said again, “you performed surgery on Bob.” He jabbed a pointed finger into her shoulder, which made Fitz visibly anxious at the growing tension in the conversation. “You performed surgery,” Hunter continued, “so therefore, you are a surgeon. A doctor. Of medicine.”

“Just because I can perform surgery doesn’t mean I’m a surgeon,” she said, a passive aggressive smile plastered on her face. “I don’t have a degree in any form of medicine, nor do I have a license. I only perform those tasks when no one else can.”

“So you performed surgery on my ex-wife with absolutely no credentials?”

 _Oh, no. That doesn't sound good, does it?_ “I, well—what I meant to say—“

“What’s going on over here?” Skye had just rounded the corner, thankfully taking the attention off of Jemma.

“Oh!” Jemma beamed. “ Hi Skye! Just taking Fitz to the Med Unit.”

“Med Unit?” she asked, “Aren’t you the Med Unit?”

The smile on Jemma’s face drop to the floor as she looked back and forth between Skye and Hunter, the latter of the two having an annoying smug look on his face as he waited for Jemma’s reply.

“You know what?” she began, channeling as much calm as she could, but knowing it would last long, “Yes, I have often acted as part of the Medical Team, but this is not because of my credentials, it is simply because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m bloody brilliant.” She smiled at herself as she watched their faces—few people ever get to see her anger rising, and she knew that they were in for a shock. “The only reason I have acted as a medical professional is because I learn material at such a fast rate, that I could essentially be whatever type of scientist I want.”

Jemma noticed that Fitz was looking at her intently, recognizing the pseudo calm that was about to break. This only spurred her on further. “But I am not just any type of scientist. I am a biochemist! And I am proud to be one, and I love analyzing biochemical material. What I don’t love is putting bandages on all your little boo boos! I don’t love cutting open team members when they are about to die—and I certainly don’t love being responsible for the health of each person on this base! I am not now, nor will I ever, be your “med unit” unless there is no one else who can do the job! So please, shut up about it. I’m not your doctor, I’m not your nurse—I’m your biochemist! Get it right.” Jemma took in a few deep breaths as she watched the others. Skye simply raised her eyebrows and smiled, while Hunter seemed a bit offended.

“Jeez,” he said, crossing his arms, “Never meant to make you lose it like that. Sorry, _Dr. Biochemist,_ won’t happen again.” He turned to leave, as did Skye, but before he did, he looked to Fitz. “Be careful with this one,” Hunter said, nodding towards Jemma, “she’s a fireball, and fireballs are dangerous. Trust me.”

Fitz raised his eyebrows at Hunter as the latter walked away, and turned back to Jemma. “That was awesome,” he said, still holding a tissue to his mouth, but looking at her with awe in his eyes.

Jemma laughed, releasing some of the tension in her body. “Glad you thought so,” she said, looping her arm around his again, “Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

* * *

 

Fitz sat on the counter of the Med Unit, smiling slightly as Jemma dabbed Neosporin on his cut, enjoying her being so close. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, but couldn’t build up the courage to actually do it.

“All right,” Jemma said, pulling away and looking towards the computer, “I’ll just send in the request for a dental consultation—anything else you need? Ice pack?”

There wasn’t really anything else he needed, thought Fitz, but there was definitely something that he wanted. The trick was saying it out loud. “Em,” he started, “well, you know how, sometimes, well—what I mean is—“

“Fitz,” she said, smiling at him, “just say it.”

He took a deep breath. “Kiss it better?”

Jemma’s eyes widened, but her smile didn’t falter. “You’ve got Neosporin all over your mouth!” she said, laughing as she took a step closer to him.

“Not—not right here,” he said, pointing to the corner of his mouth. He held his breath while she looked at him, feeling himself go completely red.

“Well, in that case.” She leaned forward, and gently placed her lips on the corner of his mouth….

And throughout that day, Fitz re-split his mouth open 4 times. He just couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Agent-85, I really hope you enjoyed this! I loved writing it, as I have often wondered why someone with PhDs is performing surgery... It was great to let Jemma explain what she actually is trained to do!


End file.
